Bathing method 2 question and HELP!

[Jingles]

How do you get the fully flighted bird to stay IN the sink?

 

Here's what I normally have to do...

 

Our bathroom that I bathe him in has 2 (3 if the door is open) perching places. On top of the shower rod and on top of the cabinets. That is place he will fly too. So, I get him, turn the shower on, put him in at the bottom of the shower, he will fly up out of the top of the shower and go to the top of the cabinet.

 

I take my stool and go over the cabinet. Climb on that, climb on the counter, reach up to get him. Usually, he will start running around on top of the cabinet. Biting my hand when i come near. So, that gets the towel out. But I'm not used to it and neither is he, so I'm always terrified I'm going to hurt him. But somehow I manage.

 

Then, I climb down from the sink... to the stool, and back over to the shower. Put him in at the bottom again. He'll fly up, out of the shower and back on the cabinet.

 

Repeat this process SEVERAL times! It's so frustrating. I know he needs bathed. When we first got him, he was clipped and didn't know how to fly. So, bathing was easy. But now, I'm EXHAUSTED. He doesn't get bathed very often because of this. And I don't get him soaked enough with the spray bottle I have.

 

ANY tips, help, or suggestions are MOST welcome.

[Jingles]

oh, I forgot to say, once his wings are wet enough, he can't fly and he will just not make it up to the top of the shower curtain to go out. Then, he'll crash into the shower wall and fall to the bottom, where I fill up the tub with water to get his underside soaked and then chase him around with the sprayer.

 

I really need a different method.

[Dave007]

The method you're using is totally different than a sink method. First off, your bird isn't submerged in anything. In a sink method he/she is standing in about 2 to 3 inches of water. The level of the water should be high enough to touch the lower breast area or even higher if the bird will put up with it. . Just being submerged in that depth cleans off the breast area, under the vent area, all of the feet, all of the tail area. At that depth, if a bird tries to flap, that will speed up getting underneath the wings which isn't waterproof.

How to put him in the sink----if a grey doesn't like any type of baths or showers, you'll need to wrap your hand around the body and simply carry him to the sink and put him in. Then you can keep your hand above the bird to prevent flying away. With your other hand, have a mister and spray him thoroughly on the top of the wings and back. The water he's sitting in is taking care of the rest of his body. When a grey gets sprayed on the wings and back, the only thing that's coming off is the dander which is a natural thing that greys have. If a grey never had that dander taken off, it wouldn't mean anything because he/she is shaking it off to make room for the new coating of dander. His time in the sink doesn't need to be long and for greys who don't like any type of bathing/spraying/showering, the time in the sink will also be aggravating for a while but many greys get used to being in a sink and the tatal soaking of the bird helps him to productively preen for quite a long time. A grey who's been bathed thoroughly will srtay wet for about 2 hrs afterward. That's when they preen. A bird should drip dry, not dried by human hands (towels, hair dryers). The longer the bird stays wet, the better. Basically, this sink method is for birds that don't wanna get wet at all.

Flying all over a bathroom area isn't a good idea especially when a person has to climb on things to retrieve him. A bird can get frantic about that, get nippy, and not forget about the unpleasent experiences in a bathroom when being chased all over.

 

In the bathing stickys, a full description on how to do different types of bathing was put into the original posts including sinks.

 

PS-------what a grey does like is feeling and being soaked down afterward. That's why they're so quiet after getting soaked down

Edited August 17, 2011 by Dave007

[Jingles]

Thanks Dave! I'll try the hand on his back and then hand above him... Is that all I need? A hand above him... How far above him? What do you do when he tries to fly off... I've kept my hand above him before but when he flies, I don't know what to do. And if I keep my hand to close to him, I'll get bit... How do you get them to step down into the water? Ah...so many questions!

 

And I explained myself wrong...I meant, I fill up the tub to where it's just hitting his lower breast area. He's not submerged... Once we get to that point...he walks around and will flap and even play with floating toys. But, that's after I'm exhausted from climbing to get him...

[Dave007]

Thanks Dave! I'll try the hand on his back and then hand above him... Is that all I need? A hand above him... How far above him? What do you do when he tries to fly off... I've kept my hand above him before but when he flies, I don't know what to do. And if I keep my hand to close to him, I'll get bit... How do you get them to step down into the water? Ah...so many questions!

 

And I explained myself wrong...I meant, I fill up the tub to where it's just hitting his lower breast area. He's not submerged... Once we get to that point...he walks around and will flap and even play with floating toys. But, that's after I'm exhausted from climbing to get him...

 

Yes, A hand that's above him and staying above him following him around while over him. 6 to 8 ins above him

is good but you judge.

 

*****And I explained myself wrong...I meant, I fill up the tub to where it's just hitting his lower breast area. He's not submerged... Once we get to that point...he walks around and will flap and even play with floating toys. But, that's after I'm exhausted from climbing to get him... *****

 

I'll answer by asking---what's easier, containing a bird who's in a bathroom tub or in a 20 in square sink?

A person shouldn't look at all the methods thinking that Finally!!!he's gonna like being bathed!! With some, it happens, with others it doesn't. What is good about a sink is that the bird can get used to being in a sink because he/she isn't gonna be there very long.

As far as flying away--my birds are way past that point of flying away. They used to dislike the sink a long time ago but now they simply grumble and make tiny weird sounds when I'm putting them in.

What would I do if one flew away? I'd retrieve him and depending on how frantic he is, I'd put him back in the sink or just put him on a playstand.

*****How do you get them to step down into the water? *****

I already answered that above. Gotta put your hands around the whole body including wings, walk over to the sink and put him in. This whole thing has nothing to do with stepping up or stepping down. It isn't a training session.

Wanna put in a distraction while he's in the sink? Put a small ping pong ball in the sink. Many times, they'll simply try to bite the floating ball while you're spraying him.

 

All of this takes practice and it also takes a bird a while before he/she gets used to it.

 

Another tip--use cold water. Greys like cold over warm water

[Jingles]

oh, OK! Now i get what you mean by putting your hands around him. I thought it was perched on my finger with my hand on his back.

 

I'm pretty sure he's going to not like whatever bathing method I choose. I would like to at least not exhaust myself getting him bathed! Maybe 'someday' he'll just grumble, but I know that's a long way out.

 

And a sink will be easier than a tub! Especially if he's not to wet to fly (that's how i got him in the tub) was by him flying through the shower spray enough times to be to heavy to fly...

 

Thank you so much. You've helped... just thinking of bath time would exhaust me... But now, I feel more confident that I don't have to be exhausted.

[Dave007]

After a few times, you'll get more adept at doing this and you should see better results. The more you do it, the more accepting your bird will be.

Just remember that you're doing this for cleaning purposes, not training purposes. Be ready for your bird to

1--not like it

2--like it

3--really don't care one way or another.

 

PS--after bathing, let him drip dry and make sure you give a small treat and tell him that he was a good boy.

 

Good luck

[Jingles]

Ok, so I did it! (When I got home from work, he's dry now... took 1 hour and 30 minutes for him to be dry) I filled up the sink and then went over and got him. Managed to get him in the sink, he managed to get past my hand. Went over and got him off the back of the chair (his favorite spot) and then got him back in the sink and kept my hand about 2 inches from his head.

 

I followed him around and got his back with the mister... He was so interested in the walls of the sink that I was able to get him without my hand following him everywhere, but not to long... I figured i should have it over his head. So after a few minutes (we didn't make it to 5) he figured out how to get on the divider thing that separates the sinks. Even with my hand above him... But he was soaked. I tried to put him back in, but he wasn't having it... so I didn't make him. Put him on his perch and didn't hear a peep for about 20 minutes. (I did give him a treat and made a big deal of him being a good boy)

 

Now... Having my hand when he was determined to get on the divider thing over his head, didn't really work... Just keep putting him back? Wish my sink was deeper!

[Jingles]

Oh and I was surprised that he was a 3. He didn't seem to care he was in the sink... Which was weird...

[Dave007]

So, it sounds like you're a little happier now? If so, as you repeat the whole thing, you'll get more relaxed about it. He'll probably stay in longer as he gets more baths. He'll also relax when he realizes what you're doing. Don't be surprised by his drying time.Many birds even take longer than your did.

The longer they stay wet, the better they can preen and besides the feathers, the skin also benefits.

Glad it worked so quickly.

[Jingles]

Thanks for talking me through it dave!!!